Recoveree

I am an addict who is clean. That means I don’t use any drug including alcohol. Also including pot, heroin, cocaine, opium, codeine, LSD, speed and many others. When I am at an NA meeting and I want to identify myself so that others can identify with me , I use the lowest common denominator…..I am an addict. I don’t say I am ‘clean and sober’, or ‘clean and heroin free’, or ‘clean and relieved of my obsession to use crack’, or ‘clean and dry from pot’. I also expect others to make it easy for me to identify with them.

Our program tells us that “We are not interested in what or how much you used�
How does identifying oneself (at an NA meeting) as an addict AND alcoholic allow for identification to the person who has never used alcohol? How does that further our fellowships belief that we suffer from a disease and that the specific drug or drugs we used are not at the foundation of our problem, but only a manifestation of a much deeper problem?
When I say I am clean , that means just that. I don’t use anything. I don’t have to say it twice (as in clean and sober)….obviously if you are clean, then you don’t use alcohol. There are some who identify themselves as addicts and alcoholics at an NA meeting. I guess they believe that they have two different diseases. One makes them an addict and one makes them an alcoholic.

Why do you suppose that only so-called alcoholic and addicts identify themselves twice? Why don’t we hear more often, things like ; Hi I ‘m Johnny, I’m an addict and a crackhead. Or I’m an addict and a junkie or I’m an addict and a pothead or I’m an addict and anything else? And why do those who identify as ‘alcoholic and addict’ stop there? Why not Hi I’m Joe and I am an alcoholic and a pothead and a speedfreak and an overeating divorced gambling, retired, fireman and oh yeah….an addict? When we do that it makes us less anonymous...it makes us stand out more…..

To say I am an ‘alcoholic and an addict is like saying I am a carrot and a vegetable. It is redundant. If one can be ‘clean AND sober’ then it follows to reason that one can be clean but not sober. MW Dictionary defines sober as; “not addicted to intoxicating drink c : not drunk� It defines clean: : free from drug addiction

Some people believe that AA and NA are the same. They are not the same. If they were the same, we addicts would still be attending AA meetings, and there would never have been NA or any other fellowship. I don’t go to Narcotics Anonymous meetings to hear about AA or CA. If I want to hear about those places, then I will go there. AA does not need our help so badly that we need to talk about it in NA.
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And it goes both ways I would not go to an AA meeting and speak in a manner that conflicts with their traditions.

Here is a statement from AA literature;
“Alcoholism and drug addiction are often referred to as “substance abuse� or “chemical dependency.� Alcoholics and non-alcoholics are, therefore, sometimes introduced to A.A. and encouraged to attend A.A. meetings. Anyone may attend open A.A. meetings. But only those with a drinking problem may attend closed meetings or become A.A. members. People with problems other than alcoholism are eligible for A.A. membership only if they have a drinking problem.�

Dr. Vincent Dole, for several years a trustee on the General Service Board of A.A., made the following statement: “The source of strength in A.A. is its single-mindedness. The mission of A.A. is to help alcoholics. A.A. limits what it is demanding of itself and its associates, and its success lies in its limited target.�

In NA, when we use the word "addiction" we do, in fact, mean "drug addiction." Our Third Tradition says, "The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using." Clearly, we mean "... a desire to stop using drugs."
As a fellowship, we place much importance on the fact that we have shifted the focus of our steps off any specific drug and onto the addiction itself. We have done that by wording Step One "powerless over our addiction" rather than "powerless over drugs" or "powerless over narcotics." Any wording of Step One which named specific drugs -- or drugs at all -- would have stated the principle with much less power than our current wording does.
We must understand our First Step well enough to keep our sharing at meetings focused on the disease of addiction, not on specific drugs. That way our focus is broad enough to include all drug addicts..

Since it is true that we attempt not to focus on any particular drugs in our meetings, many members have questioned why we are called Narcotics Anonymous. Wouldn't Addicts Anonymous or Drug Addicts Anonymous have been more appropriate title?
The name of our program does seem incongruous with our philosophy and with the varied nature of our membership. In fact, when our fellowship first broke away from Alcoholics Anonymous, we called ourselves "Addicts Anonymous." Two separate fellowships, both calling themselves "AA" was not such a clean break, though. So our founders chose the name Narcotics Anonymous. At the time, "narcotics" referred to all drug categories, and so "Narcotics Anonymous" was a reasonable choice as the name of our fellowship. The original title, then, did reflect our philosophy of not being focused on a specific drug or drugs. Unfortunately, the word narcotics later became associated with a particular drug category.

. All Narcotics Anonymous groups are bound by the principles of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of NA. Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry the message of recovery to the addict who still suffers.

From IP #2;
The NA member chosen to speak at a meeting needs to be someone who is working and living the NA program of recovery, which is the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
When speaking at an NA meeting, we should be careful to deliver a clear message of recovery by identifying ourselves as addicts recovering from the disease of addiction.

I am for anything that helps anyone stay clean and I will help anyone , anytime to stay clean. I just believe that when you are in someone’s house, that you respect it. NA members need to follow NA’s traditions and AA members need to follow AA’s traditions and vice versa. Na has but one primary purpose, and so does AA. They both work best when we follow the concepts that each stands for.

In my home group we read an Identity Statement (above post) but we leave it at that. We don’t jump down anyone’s throat, no matter what they say. We know that if they keep coming back, that one day they will understand why we read it. If questioned, I am glad to speak to anyone about it after the meeting. Our home group will always welcome you no matter how you identify yourself.

Following a program of recovery does not make it the NA way of recovery unless one follows the NA steps and traditions and participates in the fellowship of NA. It doesn’t matter to me how many different fellowships one goes to while working their own personal program of recovery. Me? I spent too many years trying to do it my way. I have made a commitment to follow the NA way. I found everything I need in NA meetings and fellowship. I don’t need to go to any other fellowship anymore. I have been to others, they just didn’t do it for me. Even when there were only a few meetings each week in my region some 20 years ago (there are 700 weekly now) , I found a way to get to an NA meeting in a town nearby. Most importantly, when I did have the occasion to be in another fellowship meeting, I did my best to follow their way of doing things, their topics of discussion, and their terminology. I did it out of respect to the other people in the room. I repeat, whatever or however we choose to implement our own personal recovery is up to each individual, but let’s not confuse our own program of recovery with the time tested and proven Narcotics Anonymous program of recovery.

Even though we do not always see eye to eye, we have at last learned how to disagree without being disagreeable.

Wishing you love and recovery,
Richie